This disclosure relates to calendaring and scheduling systems and, more particularly, to methodologies for ensuring task completion in multi-user scheduling environments.
Calendaring and scheduling systems may allow workers or other users to schedule tasks, meetings, and events through entries in the system. In a multi-user scheduling system or other global environment, members of a team or other group may schedule tasks, meetings, and events to work collaboratively on a project. Each group member may have a number of collaborative tasks (i.e., a number of tasks where members work together on a project) and a number of individual tasks to complete on a given day or at a given time. Often times, collaborative tasks may take precedence over individual tasks, and the group member may have to work extra hours to complete individual tasks.
Additionally, the lure of collaborative tasks and the opportunity to communicate with others may cause the group member to procrastinate by responding to electronic mail (email), participating in blogs, wikis, discussion forums, or other collaborative activities, before ensuring his/her individual tasks are completed. Similarly, the lure of opening applications other than the ones necessary to complete tasks, such as internet browsers and games, may cause unnecessary distractions. Accordingly, these group members may need support from an application framework to ensure they have focus time to complete tasks.